Microsoft Office 2011 comes quickly to Mac, in October

Just four months after the latest version of Microsoft Office came to Windows computers, a new Mac version of the software suite will be hitting the shelves, in 100 different countries.

The new Office software will also be just about the cheapest it has ever been on Microsoft’s competing operating system, with a Home and Student Edition of Office for Mac 2011 available at just $119.

The business version of the software package will be $199, and a special version of the Home and Student edition with three install licenses will be available for $149. A two-install version of the business edition will cost $279.

In addition to the typical Mac fare of Word, Powerpoint, Excel, and Messenger, the 2011 edition adds support for Microsoft’s e-mail application Exchange.

Just like Windows users who got a free upgrade from Office 2007 to Office 2010, those who buy Office for Mac 2008 will be eligible to get Office for Mac 2011 for free when it comes out in October.

“We develop Office for Mac to give you the tools to create great-looking and compatible documents — with options to pick the right edition for your Mac needs. More than ever before, Office 2011 brings the familiar productivity tools and features of Microsoft Office to a suite of applications that work great on the Mac,” said Microsoft’s Mac unit manager Eric Wilfrid.